(WWI 5) [World War I] Collection Nu

Home , North Carolina

Military Collection State Archives of North Carolina

North Carolina School Wartime Materials (WWI 5) [World War I]

Collection Number: WWI 5

Title: North Carolina School Wartime Materials

Dates: 1915-1921

Creator

North Carolina Historical Commission, Fred A. Olds, Robert B. House; and various others

Abstract

The North Carolina School Wartime Materials collection is composed of items collected by the North Carolina Historical Commission, and two of its primary war materials collectors, Fred A. Olds, and Robert B. House, highlighting life during World War I at colleges, universities, and other academic institutions throughout North Carolina. The collection holds various newspaper articles, letters, lists, photographs, booklets, and published materials documenting the different ways in which North Carolina’s state educational facilities, private educational institutions, and the education profession adapted to the rapid demands of the war effort. The collection documents Students’ Army Training Corps and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps on several college and university campuses, as well as showing groups of North Carolina college students training for military service at sites outside of North Carolina. The collection also documents the role of women in educational institutions during the war.

Physical Description: Approximately 4.8 linear feet

Language(s): English

Repository

State Archives of North Carolina, 4614 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4614

Restrictions on Access: There are no restrictions on accessing this collection.

Restrictions on Use: There are no restrictions on use of this collection.

1 Preferred Citation

[Item name or title], [Box Numbers], [Folder Numbers], North Carolina School Wartime Materials, WWI 5, WWI Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

Acquisition

The North Carolina School Wartime Materials collection was acquired in multiple parts by Fred A. Olds and Robert B. House from 1917 to 1921. As war records collectors for the North Carolina Historical Commission, Olds and House were charged with obtaining documents, records, and visual materials related to North Carolina’s wartime efforts. Due to difficulties collecting wartime records from organizations and institutions, Olds and House signed up for various North Carolina educational institutions’ mailing lists, for such publications as school newsletters; and coordinated with various school officials to collect the remaining records in this collection. In their collection efforts, they received from certain North Carolina schools and educational associations’ publications, correspondence, and photographs related to campus and students involved in the war effort.

In the 1918-1920 North Carolina Historical Commission Biennial Report published in 1920, the Historical Commission noted that, “About 3,000 pieces, [of material from educational institutions] 1917-1920, miscellaneous data, collected by the Collector of War Records [Fred A. Olds].” The report also notes the acquisition of a photograph titled “Wake Forest students at Plattsburg in 1918” (see Box 3, Folder 7).

All of the materials in this collection were acquired or collected as part of the North Carolina Historical Commission’s on-going World War historic materials collection project, which was authorized by Sections 3 and 4 of Chapter 144 of the North Carolina Public Laws and Resolutions in 1919.

Related Material

North Carolina Council of Defense Records, WWI 1, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

North Carolina County War Records, WWI 2, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

Processing Information

The collection was divided into three series, and grouped within those series alphabetically by the name of the college or university. Within these groups, the folders were arranged by material, and ordered based on relative importance and uniqueness of the items. Occasionally, the folder order was changed due to preservation concerns or issues with some of the materials. The materials in this collection were originally processed in the 1960s by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History as WWI Papers, Miscellaneous series: Colleges and Schools.

The names of the educational institutions as written on the original folders have been largely retained. However, in some cases, institutions’ names were changed on folder titles to reflect the names of the institutions by the end of the war, as documented by the last documents containing those names within this collection. Although many of these institutions have since changed their names, the new names of schools are noted in the Historical Note of this finding aid.

Pieces of paper attached to photographs, which contained information about the photographs’ subject matter and dates, were removed and photocopied on acid-free bond paper. This bond paper was placed in the back of the acid-free archival sleeve with the photographs.

The single oversized photograph—originally stored in a regular legal-size folder in the collection—has been relocated to Box 5 [Oversized Materials], and Oversized Folders 1-2 (stored in the Military Collection Oversized Map Case).

Processed by: J. Cameron Crawford; Matthew M. Peek, July-August 2015

Arrangement

The collection is grouped into four series and two subseries:

Series I: State-Supported Schools Series II: Private Schools Series III: General Education Materials Subseries III A: North Carolina Subseries III B: National and States Series IV: Oversized Materials

Historical Note

The North Carolina Historical Commission (the precursor of the State Archives of North Carolina) recognized at the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War I the importance for North Caroling to begin an effort of collecting materials which documented the role taken by North Carolina soldiers and civilians in the war. In cooperation with the North Carolina Council of Defense, a special history committee, called the “Historical Preservation” committee, was appointed by the Council of Defense. The Historical Preservation committee consisted of the North Carolina Historical Commission Secretary Robert Digges Wimberly (or R. D. W.) Connor, as chairman; Haywood Parker of Asheville, North Carolina; Ms. Adelaide Fries of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Paul W. Schenck of Greensboro, North Carolina; Edgecombe County-native George Gordon Battle, who was one of the leading lawyers in New York City at the outbreak of WWI; Ms. Lida T. Rodman; and J. G. deR. Hamilton of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Council of Defense Historical Preservation committee’s mission was to collect for permanent preservation the war records of the state of North Carolina. The term “war records” was given the widest possible interpretation, so as to include all materials that illustrate the state

3 of mind of the citizens of North Carolina toward World War I; the effect of the war on social, educational, economic, agricultural, political and religious conditions; and the personal achievements, sacrifices, and services of North Carolina individuals in the war. Efforts were made by the North Carolina Historical Commission to secure the cooperation of such organizations as the State and County Councils of Defense; the State and County Fuel Administrations; the State and County Food Administrations; the American Red Cross; and other organizations engaged in work connected with the World War I preparedness and support efforts of the United States.

The Historical Preservation committee and the North Carolina Historical Commission urged these institutions, organizations, and members of the public to preserve carefully their records, and ultimately deposit them with the North Carolina Historical Commission. Efforts were also made to secure assistance in this work through the appointment in each county of a county historian for war purposes. However, these efforts were not particularly successful, as resources and people were stressed throughout the war at the local level in North Carolina. Individuals willing to work as volunteer war record collectors were secured in sixty counties. These individuals promised to aid in the historical preservation work of the committee, but only a few of them had been active throughout World War I.

Not much could be accomplished in terms of collecting war materials, however, due to a lack of funding and the lack of a law by the North Carolina State Legislature indicating a state-backed collection program. From 1917 to 1919, the State Legislature was not in session, and this scenario could not be remedied. However, in 1919 the State Legislature formally approved the North Carolina Historical Commission’s war records collection efforts with the passage of Chapter 144 of the North Carolina Public Laws and Resolutions (specifically Sections 3 and 4) in 1919. The new law empowered the Historical Commission to appoint a collector of World War records, and provided money for the project’s support.

Acting under authority of this law, the Historical Commission chose Mr. Robert B. House Collector of World War Records, and House entered upon his work June 19, 1919. On taking up his duties, House found that the Historical Preservation committee of the State Council of Defense (through a system of volunteer collecting in various counties of the state), and Col. Fred A. Olds (North Carolina Historical Commission Hall of History Collector) had already collected a large amount of war materials. House tried to systemize the collection process and network of volunteer collectors around North Carolina. House and a part-time stenographer worked to copy information from original materials; label, classify, and identify original materials; and operate a continuous correspondence network with individuals throughout the state and with federal wartime government offices.

In order to collect the materials regarding academic institutions during the war, Fred A. Olds signed up for the mailing lists of various universities throughout the state, and retained material that directly corresponded to the war. After the war, he worked with Robert B. House to contact both the institutions and individuals working for the institutions, seeking original records from each institution that documented the effects of the war on the school and how schools dealt with limited student bodies due to military service.

4 A number of the educational institutions represented in this collection changed names over the years. The Negro Agricultural and Technological College is now the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro. The North Carolina College for Women was the predecessor of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering became North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Trinity College, once its own institution and later the undergraduate college for men at Duke, became part of modern-day Duke University. Wake Forest College was originally located in the town of Wake Forest, North Carolina, during World War I; however, it moved to Winston-Salem and became present-day Wake Forest University.

Scope and Content

The North Carolina School Wartime Materials collection is composed of correspondence, newspaper clippings and articles, pamphlets, photographs, alumni publications, university publications, and published booklets from academic institutions and associations in North Carolina as they relate to World War I. There are also publications from other state’s educational institutions, national educational associations, and the federal government. The materials in this collection document the effects of the war on academic institutions in North Carolina, and also the war work that took place on campuses—specifically female students. The collection is subdivided into three series: Series I: State Supported Schools; Series II: Private Schools; and Series III: General Education Materials.

Subject Terms

Corporate Names

Agricultural and Technical College of North Carolina Davidson College Duke University East Carolina College Elon College Guilford College Meredith College (Raleigh, N.C.) North Carolina College for Women North Carolina State College Saint Mary’s School and Junior College (Raleigh, N.C.) Shaw University University of North Carolina (1793-1962) Wake Forest College

Places

Greensboro (N.C.) Raleigh (N.C.)

5 Subject—Topical

World War, 1914-1918 World War, 1914-1918--North Carolina World War, 1914-1918--United States World War, 1914-1918--War work World War, 1914-1918--War work--Schools. World War, 1914-1918--Women--United States.

Material Types

Correspondence Booklets Manuscripts Newspapers Photographs Serials (publications)

Collection Inventory

Series I: State-Supported Schools

Series I is the largest series in the collection. It is composed of materials from state-supported academic institutions in North Carolina related to World War I. Many of these items are stamped as having been sent to Fred A. Olds and Robert B. House, war materials collectors for the North Carolina Historical Commission. The materials were collected by these two men during the war by signing up for university mailing lists. Materials they deemed important were retained following the war to create this collection.

Although materials from the University of North Carolina comprise the majority of this series, materials from numerous other colleges and universities exist within this collection. Some schools have been renamed in recent years, such as the Negro Agricultural and Technological College (see Box 1, Folder 3), which is now called the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Interesting items in this series include photographs of women at academic institutions, who volunteered to support various war efforts and programs, performing agricultural work and processing food for the war effort (see Box 1, Folder 5). One such female student group, the “Farmerettes,” worked on campus at the North Carolina College for Women (present-day University of North Carolina-Greensboro). Also of interest is a photograph of University of North Carolina men training at a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Camp in 1917 (see Box 1, Folder 12).

Box/Folder Description Date

1/1 East Carolina Teachers Training School Booklets 1919-1920

1/2 East Carolina Teachers Training School War Materials Undated

WWI 5.B1.F2: Elevated group photograph of Company C of the battalion at the East Carolina Teacher Training School in Greenville, North Carolina (undated)

1/3 Negro Agricultural and Technological College 1917-1919

1/4 North Carolina College for Women War Materials 1917-1921

1/5 North Carolina College for Women Photographs Undated

WWI 5.B1.F5.1 (2 copies): Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College farm in Greensboro, North Carolina, put up the last straw after wheat threshing (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.2: Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College farm in Greensboro, North Carolina, bring in the last load of hay (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.3: Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College farm in Greensboro, North Carolina, pictured in a flatbed truck being driven by an African-American man, return from the farm three miles away from campus after the day’s work was completed (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.4: Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in Greensboro, North Carolina, are pictured hoeing the ground around corn stalks on the campus farm (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.5 (2 copies): Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in

7 Greensboro, North Carolina, are pictured in a field gathering tomatoes from tomato plants to can for the war effort (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.6 (2 copies): Ten female volunteer farmers, part of the “Farmerettes,” at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in Greensboro, North Carolina, dress in white dresses and wearing white hats, pictured canning beans and stacking 201 gallons of canned beans for the war effort (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.7 (2 copies): Group photograph of ten of the original female volunteer stenographers, sitting on the ground writing, at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in Greensboro, North Carolina, who made it possible to offer plans and suggestions for patriotic service to three hundred college volunteer workers within ten days after the colleges closed (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.8: A group of female summer school students, seated in chairs and on the ground outside, at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in Greensboro, North Carolina, stringing beans for the canners as war service volunteers in between their summer classes (undated) [photograph by S.L. Alderman of Greensboro, N.C.]

WWI 5.B1.F5.9: Ten female volunteer students at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College in Greensboro, North Carolina, using lawn mowers and rakes to cut and rake the campus grass

1/6 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 1918, undated Engineering: Photographs

WWI 5.B1.F6.1: Group photograph of students at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering in Raleigh, North Carolina, pictured outside of a building in July 1918, attending the

8 college’s Students’ Army Training Corps training school (July 1918) [presented to the North Carolina Historical Commission by James Watson]

WWI 5.B1.F6.2: Group portrait outside of a campus building of technicians in training as part of the Students’ Army Training Corps at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1918. Captain Benjamin R. Ball is the commanding officer (1918)

WWI 5.B1.F6.3: Group portrait of men in civilian clothes at a Pennsylvania student military training school in West Raleigh, North Carolina, held at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (undated)

WWI 5.B1.F6.4: Group portrait of men in civilian clothes at a Pennsylvania student military training school in West Raleigh, North Carolina, held at the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (undated)

WWI 5.B1.F6.5: Group portrait of Pennsylvania troops in front of and on the steps of the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh, North Carolina. The troops were the guests of Governor and Mrs. Thomas W. Bickett (undated) [photograph from Fred A. Olds, North Carolina Hall of History]

WWI 5.B1.F6.6: Photograph of a small group of North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering students, commissioned as officers, at Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia (undated)

1/7 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 1920, undated Engineering: Summer School

1/8 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 1916-1917, Engineering: Agricultural Extension Service 1919-1920

1/9 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 1917-1920 Engineering: Alumni News

1/10 North Carolina State College of Agriculture and 1917-1919, undated Engineering: Miscellaneous

1/11 University of North Carolina Correspondence 1917-1921, undated

1/12 University of North Carolina Photographs Undated

WWI 5.B1.F12.2: Group portrait of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill men at the Second Reserve Officers Training Camp, held from August to November 1917 (1917)

WWI 5.B1.F12.2: Presentation of flags to the Cadet Regiment of the University of North Carolina on the university’s football field. Present are the regiment’s commander Captain Allen of Canada (first row, right); University President Edward K. Graham (first row, left); and Miss Patterson (first row, center) (circa 1918)

1/13 University of North Carolina Director of Summer December 1918 School Report

1/14 University of North Carolina The Blue Ridge 1920 Magazine

1/15 University of North Carolina The New Carolina 1920 Magazine

1/16 University of North Carolina: The University of 1918-1919 North Carolina Record

1/17 University of North Carolina: The University of 1919-1920 North Carolina Record

1/18 University of North Carolina Extension Leaflets, Undated War Information Series nos. 1-13

1/19 University of North Carolina Extension Leaflets, 1918-1919 War Information Series nos. 14-22

2/1 University of North Carolina Extension Leaflets, 1919 After-the-War Information Series

2/2 University of North Carolina Extension Leaflets, 1918-1919 Miscellaneous

2/3 University of North Carolina Newspaper Clippings 1917-1920, undated

2/4 University of North Carolina 1860 Class Reunion June 5, 1920 Program

2/5 University of North Carolina The Alumni Review 1917-1920

2/6 University of North Carolina The Alumni Review 1920-1921

2/7 University of North Carolina Articles from the 1918, undated Alumni Review

2/8 University of North Carolina Miscellaneous 1918-1920, undated

Series II: Private Schools

Series II contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, alumni publications, booklets and photographs related to private schools, colleges, and universities in North Carolina during World War I. The materials in this series range from 1915-1921. Some of these items are stamped as having been sent to Fred A. Olds and Robert B. House, war materials collectors for the North Carolina Historical Commission. The materials were collected by these two men during the war by signing up for university mailing lists. Materials they deemed important were retained following the war to create this collection.

As with Series I, some institutions changed their names since this material was collected. For example, Trinity College (see Box 2, Folders 13-16 and Box 3, Folders 1-5) is now a part of Duke University in Durham.

Interesting items in this series include a photograph of Trinity College students training at Camp Chickamauga Park of Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and the photograph’s accompanying letter addressed to Fred A. Olds (see Box 2, Folder 13). The letter shows how some materials were collected for the Historical Commission, and also provides some background information about the photograph.

Box/Folder Description Date

2/9 Elon College 1920

2/10 Guilford College 1917

2/11 Meredith College 1917-1920

2/12 Shaw University Undated

2/13 Trinity College Photograph and Newspaper Clippings 1917, 1919

2/14 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume I 1915-1916

2/15 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume II, nos. 1-2 1916

2/16 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume II, nos. 3-4 1916-1917

3/1 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume III, nos. 1-2 1917

3/2 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume III, nos. 3-4 1917-1918

3/3 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume IV, nos. 1-2 1918

3/4 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume IV, nos. 3-4 1918-1919

3/5 Trinity College Alumni Register, Volume V, nos. 1-2 1919

3/6 St. Mary’s School 1917, 1919

3/7 Wake Forest College 1917-1918

WWI 5.B3.F7.1: Group portrait of student representatives from Wake Forest College in Wake Forest, N.C., at the Students’ Army Training Corps base in Plattsburgh, N.Y., in 1918 (1918)

Series III: General Education Materials

Series III contains booklets, correspondence, publications, and newspaper clippings taken from various state and from national education sources, as well as material from institutions outside of North Carolina. These materials served various purposes. State educational materials included teachers’ materials and state educational standards for use during WWI. Government publications were intended to help set and standardize educational curriculums, as with those included here from the U.S. Bureau of Education (part of the U.S. Department of the Interior during WWI). Institutions outside of North Carolina published materials for a wide variety of purposes, including alumni publications and endowment fundraising, such as from the University of California.

The materials were collected by Fred A. Olds and Robert B. House, war materials collectors for the North Carolina Historical Commission, during the war by signing up for university mailing lists. Materials they deemed important were retained following the war to create this collection.

Subseries IIIA: North Carolina

Box/Folder Description Date

3/8 North Carolina Booklets 1917-1920

3/9 Miscellaneous North Carolina School Materials 1917-1921

Subseries IIIB: National and States

Box/Folder Description Date

4/1 University of California Chronicle 1920

4/2 Bureau of Education Publication 1920

4/3 State and National Materials 1916-1920

Series IV: Oversized Materials

Series IV contains originally folded and stored in regular file folders within the collection. Box 5 [Oversized Materials], Folder 1, contains a partial panoramic photograph, depicting Davidson College students at the ROTC camp in Chickamauga Park, Georgia, in 1917.

Oversized Folders 1 and 2 contain single-sided proof sheets of the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill Newsletter from July 30, 1919, to December 8, 1920. The newsletter proof sheets in this collection are incomplete—there is not a complete issue run for the newsletter. The newsletter contains information on students returning to the University of North Carolina following military service, and what life on the campus was like after the war.

Box 5 [Oversized Materials] is stored on the archival storage shelves with the rest of WWI 5’s collection boxes. The remaining oversized folders are now stored in the Military Collection Oversized Map Case.

Box/Folder Description Date

5/1 Davidson College Students at ROTC 1917

WWI 5.B5.F1: Trimmed panoramic group Photograph of Davidson College students at the Reserve Officers’ Training Camp in Chickamauga Park, Georgia, in 1917 (1917) [photograph by Crawford]

Oversized Folder 1 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill July 30, 1919- Newsletter Proof Sheets (Vol. 5, No. 36- February 25, 1920 Vol. 6, No. 14)

Oversized Folder 2 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill March 10, 1920- Newsletter Proof Sheets (Vol. 6, No. 16- December 8, 1920 Vol. 7, No. 5)